So one thing I know for sure is that I am not one of those artists who spends endless hours in the studio. In fact, if I’m in my workspace all day, then it’s clear that I’m working under a major time crunch.

Every weekend is filled with good intentions when it comes to making art and this past weekend was no different. First thing in the morning I tell myself that I am going to get started as soon as I finish making my coffee. After sitting on the front porch and draining my two cups however, something changes. Instead, I get on the computer and look at Facebook and surf the Internet. Then I write my “morning pages,” a la Julia Cameron, author of The Artists Way. For those who don’t know what morning pages are, think of it as journaling, where you are writing three pages of streamed consciousness. It’s supposed to be handwritten but I don’t have the patience for that so I type it out on my laptop in a large font that mimics handwriting.

Then while I’m on the computer I realize that I had better go to Trader Joe’s for groceries. A girl’s gotta eat, right? This past weekend there was an art fair taking place just up the street from Trader Joe’s, so I figured I would check that out right before grocery shopping. Believe me, if there was no fair I’d be somewhere else, perhaps at a nearby park rollerblading or running.

I return home a few hours later and it’s after 2:00, the hour when no matter where I am or what I am doing, I am compelled to take a nap. I do this on the couch while the TV is still on Animal Planet’s “My Cat From Hell” (I kid you not), with my cat (who honestly has one paw in Hell and one out of Hell), sleeping on my lap.

After that nice little nap, I pick up my phone and fart around with this cool app that I downloaded from Facebook called “Colorized.” So I crank out tons of little random thumbnail sketches on my phone and post some on Facebook. Here are some of them.

Not exactly Leonard Di Vinci but hey, good enough since I’m practically finger painting. At least I was applying my drawing skills somewhere, except that I was not applying them to “Tree Dreams” my latest piece that is in desperate need of attention. I know it’s because I’m apprehensive about adding color and I don’t want to draw those friggin’ houses in the background either.

Eventually I go upstairs and start working on the piece but it’s after 6:00 and I hadn’t had any supper.

Pitiful, I know, but I did make some progress on “Tree Dreams” before the end of the weekend. I drew the tree in black chalk pastel and added gray to the background behind it. It scared me at first but I think I am headed in the right direction.

Again, I wish I was one of those artists who could spend a day cranking out art but alas, I am not. Honestly I think it’s because I’m afraid that while I’m in the studio/office, I’m gonna miss something like sunny weather, some lame Facebook post, special event, or TV show. I’m sure I’m not the only artist out there who is like this but you better believe that while I’m away, my art isn’t gonna draw itself!